


red sky at night

by aghramochroi



Category: Ratched (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Gwen's mother is somehow the main topic of conversation, Gwendolyn is happy to comply, Mildred wants to know everything about Gwendolyn, Watching the Sunset, my man Trevor is very briefly mentioned, that's basically it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28711815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aghramochroi/pseuds/aghramochroi
Summary: in which Mildred and Gwendolyn take a moment to appreciate the sunset and have a chat.
Relationships: Gwendolyn Briggs/Mildred Ratched
Comments: 16
Kudos: 59





	red sky at night

**Author's Note:**

> a second fic? how ambitious
> 
> thank you for all the support on my last fic!! it's very much appreciated🥰

Mildred towelled her hair dry as she wandered out of the bathroom and into her and Gwendolyn’s bedroom after her shower. The other woman wasn’t there, but Mildred spotted a pair of her pyjamas draped over the chair. Mildred rolled her eyes – she was forever giving out to Gwendolyn for piling all her clothes on the chair when she didn’t want to fold them. Quickly drying the rest of her body, she grabbed the pyjamas and slipped into them. Bringing the sleeve up to her nose and inhaling deeply, she smiled faintly at the distinctive Gwendolyn smell. She made her way downstairs and frowned as she passed through an empty sitting room. Moving on to the kitchen, she reminded herself to take a deep breath and count to four as she came across another empty room. She was getting better at this, at not panicking every time she didn’t know exactly where Gwendolyn was.

“Gwen?” she called out, frowning again. Before she let her mind completely wander, she spotted the back door slightly ajar. Mildred slowly released a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding. The patio. Of course.

“Gwen?” she repeated as she poked her head around the door. She smiled at the sight before her; Gwendolyn was sitting back in a chair staring in front of her and looking completely at peace.

“Hello you,” Mildred greeted. “I wasn’t sure where you were.”

Gwendolyn turned her head as she took a drag of her cigarette. “I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Mildred waved her off and took a seat beside her. Gwendolyn gestured to a still steaming cup of tea on the patio table and Mildred thanked her quietly as she picked it up and blew on it before she took a sip. “What are you up to?”

The other woman turned her attention back to the view in front of her and took another drag. “It’s going to be a nice day tomorrow,” she exhaled slowly.

Mildred tilted her head, confused. Gwendolyn always teased that she looked like a puppy when she confused. She took another sip of her tea. After a long moment of comfortable silence, Gwendolyn stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray and angled her body more towards Mildred. “Isn’t the sunset gorgeous?”

The redhead looked out at the sky. She hadn’t really paid much attention before, but it was rather pretty, she thought.

“Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight,” Gwendolyn continued. “That’s what my mother always used to say. Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight; red sky at morning, shepherd’s warning.”

“I’ve never heard that saying before,” Mildred confessed. Gwendolyn smiled at her and took her hand.

“If the sunset is particularly red, it’s supposed to mean that the weather the next day will be good. Apparently.” She furrowed her brow in thought. “I think it’s from the bible originally. I’m not sure; I only know it from my mother. Every time there was a nice sunset, she used to sit by the window and watch it. She’d stay right ‘til the sky got dark so she could soak up every moment of it.”

She fell silent once more and both women sat looking at the sunset. It truly was something else. The sky was like a watercolour painting, strokes of colour merging into each other; blue into purple into various shades of yellow, orange, pink. The pink faded into striking dashes of pigmented red, which bled across the whole sky. Mildred took a deep breath and let the colours was over her, grounding her with nature’s stark reminder that she was alive. Beside her, Gwendolyn’s eyes darted across the sky as if she were examining a painting in a museum. There was something truly peaceful about seeing Gwendolyn like this. Mildred squeezed her hand where they were still joined. 

Dragging her eyes away from the horizon, Gwendolyn patted her knee with her free hand, releasing Mildred long enough for her to make her way around the patio table. Mildred sat sideways across Gwendolyn’s lap and let her legs dangle over the side of the chair. Wrapping an arm around Gwendolyn’s neck for support, she shifted slightly to get comfortable. Mildred rested her head on her shoulder and the two went back to gazing at the now darkening sky.

Everything went quiet once more, the low noise of the radio in the kitchen floating through the still open door the only sound to be heard. “Tell me more about your childhood,” Mildred said suddenly.

Gwendolyn glanced down at her. “What would you like to know?”

“Anything,” she blushed lightly. She shrugged a shoulder. “I like hearing about your life.”

Smiling softly, Gwendolyn started stroking Mildred’s hair as she thought of what to say. “My mother,” she began, “always had these little sayings and phrases. Like red sky at night, shepherd’s delight.”

Mildred nodded in encouragement as she continued. “There were loads of them when I was growing up… a stitch in time saves nine, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back. She had one for every occasion; no matter what was going on, my mother had a saying for it.” She smiled to herself. “Sometimes I find myself saying them and I think ‘oh my God, I’m turning into my mother.’” Mildred laughed at her exaggerated horror. “I only started noticing it when I married Trevor. I suppose it must have always been something I associate with wives.”

“Did your mother like Trevor?” Mildred asked. Gwendolyn nodded.

“Oh, my mother loved Trevor. _Loves_ Trevor, I think they still stay in touch occasionally.” She paused for a few seconds before continuing. “But I think she always knew our marriage was… well, that as much as we loved each other, it wasn’t the way a husband and wife should love each other.”

Mildred looked up from her position against Gwendolyn’s chest. “Really?” she prompted.

“Oh, definitely,” Gwendolyn nodded her head. “I think she always knew that I was… different. Not that I was any different from the other girls in the neighbourhood growing up, but I think some part of her knew something. Mother’s intuition, I suppose.”

Mildred shifted in her lap, crossing her legs at the ankles. “She never said anything?” she questioned. Gwendolyn made a vague noise in the back of her throat.

“I think maybe she was waiting for me to make the first move. And then she got an invite to my wedding,” she chuckled. “She didn’t seem to mind that that was the path I had chosen. Part of her was probably glad, to be honest, that I never told her one way or another. Not that she’d necessarily be against it, it just complicates things slightly, you know? It’s easier to not have to confront it." 

Mildred nodded slowly, although truthfully she didn’t really know. She didn’t have any family, not since what happened with Edmund, so she’s never had to worry about coming out to anyone – except Betsy, of course, and Huck once upon a time. She lay her head back down against Gwendolyn’s shoulder. The sky in front of them had turned fully dark by now, clear except for a few clouds still floating, a few stars peeking out here and there. The closer to the horizon her gaze went, she could still see faint streaks of dark purple.

After a few minutes, Mildred broke the silence. “I knew a boy like that, one who was always saying weird phrases. We were in a foster home together for a while. I never fully understood what he was saying – it was like he was talking in riddles.” She frowned. “He used to call me stupid.”

Gwendolyn resumed stroking Mildred’s hair. “You’re not stupid.”

Mildred shrugged. “I changed school a lot growing up because I was moved around so much. Never stayed anywhere long enough to fully grasp the schoolwork. Plus, it’s expensive to send kids to school – books, pencils, decent clothes. Foster parents don’t want to spend money on that sort of thing for a child who isn’t even theirs. And then I ran away, so…” she trailed off. “I never got much of an education.”

“You’re naturally clever,” Gwendolyn said. Mildred averted her eyes and gave a quiet scoff. “No, you are,” she insisted. “And look how much you’ve taught yourself – you’re always reading something. You’re far from stupid, Mildred.”

Mildred fell quiet. As Gwendolyn had pointed out, she had spent years trying to make up for her lack of formal schooling, desperate to be on the same level as everyone else. She had discovered she was actually quite good at maths, able to work with numbers in her head quickly, but her reading was slightly slower than most, and she sometimes struggled with pronouncing a word or not knowing what it meant. Recently, she had began making the most of Gwendolyn, who flew through books like they were going out of fashion, and who was always willing to help Mildred. It was a work in progress, asking for help, but she was getting there.

“We should head back inside,” came Gwendolyn’s muffled voice against her hair. “It’ll be getting cold soon and you’re not even wearing a cardigan.” She raised her head slightly. “But you _are_ wearing my pyjamas.”

Mildred smiled cheekily and lifted herself from Gwendolyn’s lap, holding out a hand to pull her off the chair. Gwendolyn laughed as she did so – with surprising strength – and let herself be tugged towards Mildred. Coming together, they swayed for a moment while Sinatra sang in the kitchen, a sense of calm washing over both of them.

Eventually, they had to part when Mildred failed to successfully supress a shiver. “Inside,” Gwendolyn ordered firmly. “I’ll make us both hot chocolate, hm?”

Mildred smiled and let Gwendolyn lead the way through the back door, taking one last look over her shoulder at the sky. Truly, a delight.

**Author's Note:**

> the description of the sunset is literally just the view from my bedroom window bc i'm that unoriginal
> 
> also for someone who hasn't written anything in such a long time these lesbians are doing wonders for my inspiration


End file.
